Numbers 2 and 3 lead researchers to identify this problem. A bunch of experiments were putting people in unusual situation that nonetheless had very distinct theoretical predictions. However, due to funding constraints, the payoff differences were only like a nickel. 

The participants quite rationally didn't find it worth their time to think through what was going on nor did they notice a material difference in the payouts they were getting so they couldn't learn anything anyway.

Undisciplined

The data to help you become a better Stacker ⚡

davidw

Ah -- that seems plausible.  I might incorporate that into something like:

1. the psych factors of _all the exuberant feels_ lead to people zapping more
2. this gives them the chance to observe economic payoff matrices
3. increased value makes those payoffs salient enough to care about

If that's the generative model, it's not obvious how to realistically pry apart #1 from #2 and #3.  You could run an experiment but it would be unnatural-seeming.